Darkness falls in Daylight: REBOOT
by flyingtheme
Summary: Just trying to live, Katniss is trying to push down a particularly dark part of her past. But as a certain unwanted shadow shows up from her past, she finds herself falling into darkness once again, and trying to find solace wherever she can. Seemingly, she finds it in a cozy little bubble, named the Daylight cafe. Modern AU. Rated T for language, mature content, POSSIBLE TRIGGER.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there guys! I've uploaded a version of this previously, and had decided to remove it from the website. I found myself incredibly annoying, the way I wrote the notes extremely insensitive and had kind of given up on this story as I had started at a new school and the work load was ridiculous. I liked the idea for this story and have decided to reboot it after much editing and serious rethinking.**

**Summary: Just trying to live, Katniss is trying to push down a particularly dark part of her past. But as a certain unwanted shadow shows up from her history, she finds herself falling into darkness once again, and trying to find solace wherever she can. Seemingly, she finds it in a cozy little bubble, named the Daylight cafe. Modern AU. Rated T for language, mature content, POSSIBLE TRIGGER.**

**WARNING: This story contains what could be triggering for some. In the story, Katniss is violated and this is the events aftder, and how she decides to deal with it. IF THIS MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, PLEASE LEAVE THE PAGE.**

**DISCLA****IMER: **I do not own the rights to the Hunger Games, that honour belongs to the lovely Suzanne Collins.****

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><p><em>Blackness surrounds me, filling my heart with dread. I stand hunched against the wall where I had last been thrown, and focus on the idea that someone will be my knight in shining armor. I watch the lip of the alleyway for signs that anyone, anything has heard me, seen me, felt me. They must know I'm back here. Such suffering can't be ignored so easily.<em>

_Instead of seeing somebody, or hell, even a security camera that would alert someone of my current predicament, I see instead the grubby sidewalk illuminated wonderfully by dying orange streetlights giving everything a disgusting big city glow. The rubble under our feet, the grubby old garbage cans beside me and the shards of glass from a beer bottle that sit precariously close to my hand all have an unnatural man-made glow about them._

_As I realize that there isn't anyone coming to help me, I focus on the bigger of two evils. The large blonde man prowls like a predator stalking its prey towards me, completely satisfied that no one is coming for me._

"_No. No stop. Please! Get away! Don't touch me!" I scream the horror I feel in my heart seeping out into my words. He advances slowly but surely as I continue to scream for help. _

"_Yelling won't do anything girly." he smirks at me, knowing full well that he has me cornered to the point of no return._

_I realize this as he takes another step towards me, and grabs me by my braid. He swiftly slams me against the wall behind me and I hit my head hard enough that I feel sick to my stomach. I whimper quietly in pain as his eyes take on a fiendish glow._

"_Hush hush sweetheart, you'll only make this worse for yourself." He coos pretending to care. This only makes me mad, and snaps me out of my stupor. There was no way in hell he was going to succeed with this, and I was ready to bite off his fucking fingers if it got me out this goddamned alley._

_I look around for a makeshift weapon, and once again see the broken bottle sitting next to me. _

_He removes his large sweaty hand as I try to say something, and I see my opportunity. I try then to make my escape by hitting him where the sun just don't shine, and knee him in the groin. To my delight his grip on my arms loosens and I take that opportunity to push away his hands and lunge for even a sliver of glass. I wrap my fingers around a chunk of glass the size of my palm just as he grabs my elbow spinning me around. _

_I use the momentum of him flipping me around and swing out the piece of glass clutched in my fingers. I definitely hit my target, hearing his howls of pain and sprint for the opening in the alley but, as I took my first step, he tackled me to the ground pushing my face into the dirt._

_My attacker eases up on me just enough to flip me over so that he is straddling my torso, with my arms pinned underneath his legs. I look up to see that his forehead is bleeding profusely, I guess I must have hit him there. I struggle to get out from underneath him, realizing that his weight is just too much for me. Panic starts to overtake me and my movements become much more frantic as if I were a wild animal._

"_Stupid girl. You have brought this down on you. Much worse than it would have been." He snarls obviously done with playing games._

_In retaliation, I spit in his face no longer hoping for escape, but wanting to make this as tough as possible for him. He laughs, not even phased by it, and wipes his face with his hand. I stare helplessly as he reaches into his jacket pulling out a knife, with a perfectly polished sliver blade. He lifts it quickly to my throat to stop the scream that was building and states simply,  
>"Do as I say, or you die."<em>

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><p>I shoot straight up in bed and let out a gurgling sob. My hands reach to my throat as if the cool metal of the blade would still be pressed up against it, and instead I feel nothing but the smooth expanse of skin of my neck. I begin to sob in relief that it was just a dream and that it ended there instead of continuing on as it usually did. I keep my thoughts on my breathing, knowing that if they wandered, I would be so much worse that I already was. I clamp my hand over my mouth hoping to keep Prim from hearing me crying again.<p>

I knew that she was strong and she understood that I wasn't quite right anymore, but I didn't think that she needed to worry about me on top of school work and her social life.

None the less though, I hear my door creak open and hear the soft padding of her shuffling into my room, hesitating at the doorway.

"Katniss?" she calls out timidly, her voice riddled with sleep.

"I'm fine Prim, don't worry about me. You just- you go back to bed okay? You can't be tired for school little duck." I say sounding as cheery as I could, knowing that the tears streaming down my face would be a dead give-away that no, I was not in fact alright.

I look up and see that she's frowning, and has her hair sticking up like a cockatoo's.

"Katniss you're obviously not okay, so quit the tough guy act. Okay?" she asked her blue doe eyes clouded with worry, and her mouth downturned. Floating as gracefully as a feather in the wind, Prim moves across the room and sits down next to me on my bed. She wraps her arms around me and I rest my head on her bony shoulder, glad for the comforting embrace.

I nod silently, and close my eyes willing my heartbeat to slow down from its hummingbird flutter. Closing my eyes just brings back the horrors of my dreams though and my eyes snap open wanting the awful images to just be gone. I sigh and she rubs my back softly hoping to calm me down further.

I wipe my eyes quickly on the back of my hand and laugh unconvincingly, shaking my head.

"Just a stupid dream Prim, nothing to worry about." My voice sounding waterlogged and completely false. _Oh well, at least the tears have stopped._

She knows that this was a lie of course. She was there when he had his way with me, hiding in the shadows. She has confronted me numerous times with the idea of turning him into the police and getting myself some help, but I have refused every time. Nobody would take my admittance seriously, and I would just have to confront him again.

After a while I notice that Prim is yawning more than what's normal and I remove my head from the crook of her neck. Slowly unclasping her hands I lay her down in my bed, without any arguments from her. I gingerly get off the bed and move around to the side she's laying on and smile sadly down at her.

Prim's eyes are unfocused as she looks at me, obviously tired to the point of exhaustion, but are still filled with worry. I flip the covers up over her petite frame and lean down to kiss her forehead softly before setting an alarm for her to get up for school. As I straighten up, I see that she's struggling to keep her eyes open and stay awake with me.

I reach out and grab her small hand, and whisper to her not sure if she can hear me,

"Go to sleep little duck."

I turn and expect for her hand to drop out of mine and for her to go to sleep, but she grips my hand tighter and I turn around questioningly. Prim's eyes strain to stay open and she opens her mouth to say something, but pauses for a yawn.

"Everything will work out okay Katniss? You just have to give it some time." She says her voice practically dripping with sleep.

I give her a quick strong squeeze with my hand before letting go, and watch as she flips over and nuzzles her way into the pillows.

I padded my way through the empty, dark apartment towards the shitty little bathroom at the end of the hall and closed the door behind me. I sat down on the edge of the tub, dropped my head in my hands and breathed deeply hoping to alleviate some of the pain that was in my chest. Once sure I wasn't going to hyperventilate, I stood up unsteadily and turned on the shower stepping out of my pajamas.

I stuck my head directly underneath the spout and scrubbed my face trying to get the sleep out of my eyes and the tears off my face. Standing underneath the hot water I let it roll off my back, and try to let my emotions roll away with the water. Thinking about nothing in particular, I numbly washed my hair and stared at the tiled ground without a thought in my mind.

Moving quickly now, I stepped out of the shower gingerly so as not to fall and wiped the water away from my eyes, looking into the mirror. Although if I was being honest, I probably would have looked much better had I stuck my head in the bathtub and never come out. Instead of seeing the strong, challenging and stubborn girl that I used to be, I see a small, broken girl with scars up and down her wrists and wrapping around her ribcage.

I had been surprised that there wasn't a mark left on my neck after the... incident; but the blade just barely nicked the skin there and had no real permanent damage.

I examine my torso and realise that I can see my ribs easily, a sure sign of malnutrition. On the left side of my body, hundreds of little lines crisscross over one another creating a bizarre otherworldly pattern. Sometimes, when I see these marks I feel awful for what I've done to my body, destroying it and leaving gruesome marks. Other times, it just feels like an outlet for my pain; I can focus on something physical instead of emotional giving my head some time to just clear out.

Grimacing, I wrapped a towel around my body, disgusted and ashamed of what I'd done to it. Looking up at my face once again, I could see that the sadness and despair that I'm feeling are easy and in plain sight. I sigh and twist my expression into an indifferent mask, hoping that I could get by Prim without her going therapist on me.

Humming to myself quietly, I brush out my long raven hair and enjoy the feeling, One thing I do love about my appearance is my hair. It's such a dark brown it looks almost black, and falls in soft waves to the bottom of my ribcage. I smile at the sensation of running my fingers through my hair and decide to leave it down for today knowing it will make Prim happy.

Once feeling acceptably clean, I slip out the door and back into my own tiny bedroom. While Prim may have gotten the larger room, I like mine quite a lot. The walls are a beautiful misty grey colour, and my dresser, vanity, and bedside table are a dark brown wood stain, the bed has a soft lavender comforter on it, and bunches of white pillows to dream away your worries on. It's just too bad my worries follow me into my dreams.

The alarm for Prim has already gone, and she is most likely getting ready for the day. I shuffle over to the closet and grab a pair of distressed jeans and a black lace tank top, getting dressed up enough that I won't get in too much trouble.

Sighing and sitting down at my vanity I slap on my usual makeup covering all of my flaws and insecurities. When I'm done, I am happy with the results. Flawless skin, no under eye circles, thin black lines just over top my lash line and long black eyelashes look back at me. Now, I could lie and say that I didn't care what I looked like whether I was wearing makeup or not but that would be complete bullshit. Everybody has some insecurity they want to cover up and I was no exception.

Satisfied with my appearance I walk out to the kitchen and see Prim sitting on a stool at the counter eating a bowl of cheerios and reading a book that was assigned to her. Putting on a false smile, I sit down next to her and rest my head on her shoulder.

"Hey there little duck." I say trying to sound as cheery as I could.

"Hey beauty." She replies, turning to look at me.

"Why do you look so pretty today? You're beautiful usually, but today... you look stunning Prim."

And she really did. While she might be a fashion expert, even for her she looked dressed up today. Exchanging the second-hand designer skinny jeans and brand name clothing, she chose a maroon pair of leggings and a long knit crème sweater, accentuating her waist with a delicate brown belt.

She blushes profusely and puts the book down before she answers my question.

"Picture day, but I'm hoping Rory will notice me." She answers sheepishly, suddenly much more interested in the hidden message in her cereal than the conversation or her book.

"Ahh." I say a smile hinting at my lips.

Rory, was the younger brother of my closest friend Gale Hawthorne. Ever since Prim had been little, her goal was to get Rory to fall for her, but being a 13 year old boy he was completely oblivious.

"What are you doing today?" she asks looking back up at me, her blush fading. She was clearly trying to steer the conversation away from her love life.

"What I usually do. Just gonna go to the café. Maybe I'll be able to pick up a few more overtime hours so that we'll have some extra cash for a trip or something." I say nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. Prim and I weren't able to afford the pricier things in life, but I had made it my goal to be able to keep her happy.

At this statement her huge doe eyes bulged open even further giving her an alien like appearance. All I do is smile smugly, happy to have gotten such a reaction from her. She had been asking me about going on a vacation to someplace exotic for awhile but we just didn't have the funds to make it happen. I would have loved to whisk her away to paradise and away from our shitty lives for awhile but I figured it would be more important to have a roof over our heads.

"Oh my god! Are you serious?" she exclaims, a grin stretching across her face.

I chuckle and nod my head, feeling pleased that I could make her happy for once. Having a fashion expert as a sister is hard, especially when you're the main source of funds. Looking over at the clock, I notice that it's 8:24, leaving Prim only a few minutes to get to the bus.

"Get going little duck! Your gonna miss your bus!" I exclaim, grabbing her lunch bag from over the counter.

She stood up dumbfounded, and leaned over giving me a bone-crushing hug before twirling on her heel to go find her backpack.

"Thank you so much Katniss!" she calls from her room, rummaging around for something else she forgot.

I stand and walk over to the coffee pot flipping the switch to turn it on and lean against the counter with my arms crossed. I watch as Prim flits from place to place looking for her missing homework, hair ties and anything else she forgot. Standing up and looking slightly frazzled she gives the room a once over looking for something in particular.

I smirk and hold the book out waiting for her to realise where it is. Looking up after going through a pile of magazines and books, she sees me holding it and rushes over with a smile, grabbing it out of my hand and planting a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Get going! You can't impress people by being late." I chastise, hoping she'll get her butt out the door before the bus leaves and she'll have to run to school.

I turn around on the spot, hearing the coffee maker make a ding, and pull out my favorite mug from the cupboards, pouring myself a full cup. Hoping that it would make me feel more alive, I down a couple of gulps and continue on to make myself some breakfast. I hear Prim holler a goodbye from the front door and as she shuts it, I close my eyes and rest my head against the cabinets, closing my eyes. Today was going to be a long day.

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><p>Walking down the cold New York streets, I shiver as I walk through the rain that has pelted the city for the last few days. I turn up my collar hoping to keep the cold out and turn down a smaller side street heading for the café. Looking around there's mostly dingy bars and cheap clothing stores, but smack dab in the middle of it is a true diamond in the rut: <em>The Daylight Café.<em>

I feel myself breaking into a grin looking at the faded red awning and metal tables sitting in the front of the restaurant, and walk straight through the dark brown double doors to the dimly light coffee house. Looking around, the wallpaper that differs with each different wall greets me, as does the fragrance of coffee, the dark stain on the wooden tables and the red leather upholstery on the seats.

As I weave my way through the tables, I greet each customer by name. The regulars that come here have been coming back for years and years, so keeping them happy is always important. The adorable old couple Woof and Mags, who nobody understands, one of the strangest looking couples that I've ever seen, Seneca who has a... _fanciful_ beard and Effie who likes to keep her hair wild and her makeup thick, and the old grumpy drunk Haymitch.

Soon enough, I am in the back hanging my jacket up and grabbing a black apron from the pile tying it around myself quickly, so as not to keep Sae waiting for me. Grabbing a pen, a pad of paper and a tray I walk through the kitchen once again and give my good mornings to the staff. Sae greets me warmly enough, as do Thresh and Rue.

Hearing the bell chime, I watch with a smile, the new couple walk over to a booth and sit down chatting about something that seemed very important to the man. Oh, I was gonna have fun with theses two.

"Welcome to Magpie and Stumps, where every day is a siesta. What can I get for you my amigos?" I ask, trying to keep my voice as monotone as possible.

Both look up immediately seemingly surprised, but break out into grins realizing that it was me. I smile back at them, knowing they would be happy to have me as a server rather than Thresh. He was nice, but pretty damn scary.

"Hey Catnip, you scared me for a minute there. I'm in no mood for a mariachi band serenading us right now." The man says with a smile playing on his lips.

"Gale, I'm sure that you would be begging them to sing to you, and crying when they wouldn't." Johanna replied with a snort.

Smiling at the thought, I look down at my friends with my pen and paper in hand.

"What can I get my fine friends this fine morning?" I ask scribbling down the table number and awaiting their order.

'The usual darling, when do we get anything else?" Gale responds flashing me a toothy grin.

I roll my eyes and give a fake salute to acknowledge that I heard his order correctly. While walking to the back, I write the order out quickly, and maneuver past the tables with such precise movements you could tell I'd been working there for a while. After placing the order, I sat and smiled at the silliness of my friends.

The only friends I really have are Gale, Johanna and Rue since I'm not always the friendliest person on the planet and can switch from being happy one second to murderous the next. It's not exactly easy being close with me since I tend to push people away, but these three have figured out a way to weasel their way into my heart and stay there.

Even though I trust all of them wholeheartedly, I haven't told any of them about the demons that like to run rampant inside of me. Even Gale, who I've been friends with since we were kids doesn't know about my dark secret and I intend to keep it that way. I don't want to burden them just because they got saddled with me for a friend.

The only other person who knows what happened was Prim and she knows to keep her mouth shut, since it's not her secret to tell.

Hearing the Sae yell order up snaps me out of my thoughts, and I hustle to balance everything on my tray. For Gale, a black coffee and a bagel, and then for Johanna, one of the Daylight's most famous; a white hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin.

When I return to their table they're practically on top of one another, sucking each other's faces so hard I'm surprised they don't actually hurt one another.

I roll my eyes and put each of their orders in front of them before lightly tapping Gale's shoulder to try and get him to detach from Johanna's face. This, did not work as I hoped it would and just went for another approach by smacking the back Gale's head subtly so Sae wouldn't see me abusing the clientele.

"Hey! What was that for?" Gale cries out in surprise jumping backwards from Johanna rubbing the back of his head.

"If you two are gonna be a couple, good for you. But seriously, public places aren't exactly the best places to stick your tongues down one another's throats. If you do that ever again I will deck you." I grumble feeling embarrassed that I even knew them.

"Aww. She doesn't like it when we're all cutesy does she Boo boo?" Johanna asks Gale playfully mocking me.

"No she doesn't Pudding Pop!" he replies his eyes glinting playfully.

"Why do couples have to be so annoying?" I mumble as I turn around and head back to the kitchen.

Walking in through the swinging double doors, I hear Sae and Thresh talking in the storage area and avoid it at all costs. When those two fight it's usually an explosion of massive proportions.

"Soo..." Rue said playfully coming and bumping my shoulder.

"What?" I ask, confused at her tone.

"She didn't tell you?" Rue asks me puzzled that I don't understand what she's talking about.

"Tell me about what?" I ask cautiously, wondering what they were up to.

"Not so much as a what, but a who." Rue replies with a cheeky grin, fluttering out of the kitchen area.

"Katniss?" I hear Sae call from the back room.

I feel my stomach sink with dread, hoping and praying that they won't want my opinion on something. I seem to be awful at settling arguments, but I exceed in the art of starting them.

"We have a new employee coming in for the first time today. He's going to be our baker; the bakery is getting to charge too much for their goods and we need something cheaper or we'll go bankrupt." Sae growls at me as soon as I step foot in the room.

"And this is my problem how?" I ask agitated that someone new was coming here. This place was my extended family and I was not excited by the idea that there would be someone new to possibly ruin it.

"You're going to be showing him the ropes and basically where to find shit when he needs it. Also, lose the attitude or you lose your job." Sae responds frowning at me.

The threat of me losing my job hasn't scared me in years, she always uses it and never follows through. It's a good thing too because I'd be fired at least seventeen times over within the last year alone.

"Fine." I snap, hoping for someone slightly normal. The last thing we need is a slime ball working here and harassing people.

At that moment the back doors open, and in walks in a gorgeous man. He has a sharp angular jaw line, floppy blonde hair that falls in his eyes, and his eyes. Oh his eyes were the color of a ripe blueberry, with the azure blue of the sky in the middle. They seem almost fake with their beauty, but I realise that nothing that vivid and extraordinary could be man-made. When he spoke his voice was low and gruff, making me almost miss what he says.

"Hi, I'm Peeta. I'm the new baker."

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><p><strong>I thought I made it better although I have no idea. I already have the second chapter ready to go so if you guys like it I can update soon. Maybe review if you feel like it. That'd be potentially cool or something. :3<strong>

**Happy Holidays everyone!**

**flyingtheme**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter of DFID and I'm hoping that you guys are liking it so far.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the Hunger Games, that honour belongs to the lovely Suzanne Collins.**

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><p>"Hi, I'm Peeta. I'm the baker."<p>

My jaw literally dropped open on its own accord after hearing his voice. It was deep, husky and masculine, but still sounded soft and innocent enough to be a mischievous little boy. Out of all the drop dead gorgeous features he had, the one that I focused the most on were his eyes. His eyes, were filled to the brim with laughter and were so full of life that I just couldn't tear my own muddled gray eyes away from his sky-blue orbs.

This man, I had come to the conclusion, was the essence of beauty and happiness. And maybe also sex. That one would be quite fitting with his perfect body and chiseled features. His smile was captivating and I could feel myself smile as well, forgetting for a moment who I am.

_Oh fuck me._

"Katniss." I say with a little shake of my head, trying to ground myself back on planet earth rather than in the deep blue of his eyes.

"So, you'll be helping show me around?" he asks with the same heart stopping smile playing around on his lips.

Giving a little cough I nod because really, I don't really trust my voice not to waver or to start drooling as soon as I open my mouth. _What's going on with me today?_ I ask myself. I _never _get caught up in boys, there's just too much to do and not enough time.

Although, the whole alley scene forever in the back of my mind doesn't help me with my love life or my trust levels for men. It's actually amazing that I'm still friends with Gale, but we were close friends much before that... incident, and I know I would regret it if I let it ruin my closest friendship.

"Follow me." I say thickly.

I move through the swinging doors and into the kitchen hearing his heavy footfalls following me dutifully. In a purely subconscious manner, I realise that he would be a horrible hunter. Smirking, I imagine him waltzing through the woods with a shotgun in hand and stumbling slightly through the underbrush scaring off every animal within a thirty mile radius.

I would know about the hunting things because when I was younger, my father would take me into the woods behind our tiny cottage. He taught me how to fly-fish, set up snares, gather roots and vegetables and even how to use a bow and arrow. When it was summer instead of buying meat at the grocery store, my dad and I would set snares and go hunting for smaller game. They used to tell us that they did it to 'feel rustic' but I know now that we couldn't afford even the simplest things.

The warm memory makes me feel empty and void, and I set my jaw to keep the stinging in my eyes at bay. Realising that here and now is not the best time to dissolve into a puddle of tears and I hold my head higher. Showing weakness did not help me. Ever.

I crawl out of my depressing memories, and walk over to the cabinets reaching up and opening the door. I reach as far as I can but can't reach the lip of the stupid mixing bowls, and get up on my tip toes to try and reach it easier.

"Fuck." I mutter, angry with myself for being unable to do such a simple task as getting a bowl from a cupboard.

The problem is that I'm not even that short of a person. I stand 5'6" and I can barely reach the cupboards up high. There's a stepping stool somewhere around here, but only Rue uses it. I have too much dignity to use it, and my pride just might kill me.

Of course I'm too short to reach them. I am always too short, weak or distracted to get anything done. _I'm just useless aren't I? _I think grimly. Every time the self-loathing gets to be too much, I add another cut somewhere on me.

When it's summer it's usually on my rib cage so no one will see, but in winter I go for my wrists that I can hide under long sleeves.

I have them curling around my torso just below my left breast, and condensed to a space that would be easily hidden by bracelets. I hate myself for it but it gives me some small release, and I being the idiot that I am, I'm addicted to the feeling of the emotional pain being gone and the physical pain taking over.

I am still reaching, when I feel Peeta step closer to me. Instantly suspicious and my guard high, I whirl around on the spot and am almost touching noses with him. At least, I would be if he weren't 6 foot something. His smirk is still plastered on his lips and his eyes waltz to a song I can't hear.

My eyes widen less in fear and more in surprise and I clear my throat and slowly press my back against the counter ledge. His gaze is too intense to match so I look at anything but his face and feel myself blush what I'm sure is the exact same shade of red as a tomato.

"I can get that for you." He murmurs reaching up past me to grab the bowls from the stupid cupboard that is obviously meant for use only by yetis.

Saying that I'm uncomfortable with the situation is an understatement. I am in a large, empty kitchen with a man I don't know who has me caged inside his arms reach, and my back pressed into the counter to keep space between us and my terror levels low.

My breathing becomes more erratic and I want to close my eyes to distance myself from the situation, but realise that I will be much easier prey if I do so. Instead I do the only thing I can; and duck out from underneath his left arm and almost run to the other side of the kitchen.

Flattening myself against the cupboards, I stare at Peeta trying not to let my eyes become the size of saucers. I close my eyes slowly and lean my head back, it coming in contact with the cupboards that where obviously designed by Satan himself.

I can tell that Peeta eyes are on me, but I don't care. I need time to calm myself down enough that I won't go full rabid animal in the middle of our kitchen or start crying hysterically. I've honestly cried enough the last little while that it would be considered a biblical flood.

After nearly a minute of awkward silence, I hear Peeta clear his throat uncomfortably and take a breath in as he steps towards me at the same time. My breathing has slowed down enough that it feels like I'm at least getting back to normal, I peek open one eye at him and wrap my arms around myself.

"Katniss? Did I upset you?" Peeta asks his head cocked slightly to the left and his eyes studying my face intently.

"No, no. Don't worry about me. I'm uh, I'm just fine." I say trying to smooth over the shakiness in my hands and standing up all the way opening both my eyes.

He stands there still studying me with those ridiculously beautiful eyes and I preoccupy myself by turning around and collecting the rest of the utensils he'll need. I keep my eyes down when I turn around and set each of them carefully on the counter.

Flicking my eyes up to his face, I can tell he wants to say something from the way his lips are slightly parted and his breathing in deeply as if he was about to start reciting a soliloquy.

"If you'll follow me to the storage area, I can show you where all the ingredients are." I say my voice nearing a whisper.

His expression goes back to the more aloof look it had earlier, but this time it seemed strained. This was most likely to put me at ease, but it only made him look like he was trying not to grimace. He nodded once and gestured for me to go first, following at a distance.

Walking through the shelves, I explain that the most common ingredients are nearer to the kitchen, and the least common are at the back. Everything else is in a bit of a purgatory of what was used often and was used rarely, but I assured him he'd know where everything he needed was by the end of today.

"So," he said quietly after my small speech, "If I were to go looking for salt I would find it near the doorway to the kitchen?" he asks lightly.

I just nod in return, quickly becoming bored of what was being said and was much more interested in the beautiful stranger in front of me.

"And where would the saffron be?" he interrupted my not so innocent thoughts.

"That sounds more like an infection than an ingredient so I'm not quite sure whether that would be in here. Although you could ask Sae, but I'm not quite sure you'd want to ask her anything that isn't important. Ever." I respond after a second.

Peeta in return of my comedic gold, bows his head slightly, smiling with his whole being and shakes his head a little.

"Well, I think that's all." I say slightly grudgingly. I didn't want to have to go back and deal with moody customers, and I mean really, when you had the option of being yelled at by an old lady that speaks rarely anything but curses, or spending the afternoon helping a gorgeous blonde boy bake what would you choose?

"Okay, I think I can cover things from here." He says his smile shrinking somewhat.

I walk over to the entrance of the storage room and am about to leave, when I hear him call something.

"I'm sorry, what did you say Peeta?" I turn around looking for him through the shelves.

He peeks his mop of floppy blonde hair around one of the far shelves and smiles at me warmly, causing my insides to feel warm.

"If I need help finding things can I come get you?" he asks sheepishly.

I can feel myself blush once again and smile, nodding at him before slipping out the door and back to my duties.

The rest of the week was quite boring and passed quietly and slowly. After the first day that Peeta had gotten here, he and I hadn't talked much, except for once when he asked me to help him find an extract of something or other, which frankly sounded more like it should be used in a summoning ritual than a recipe.

After looking for at least half an hour we gave up our search and went back to our respective jobs. Him baking and listening to music quietly, and me getting yelled at by Seneca because his coffee wasn't the right shade of black, and being told on a daily basis by Woof that I needed a haircut; at least, that's what I thought he was saying.

* * *

><p>On Friday, Gale, Johanna, Thresh, Rue and I had plans to just go down to <em>Abernathy's<em> after the café closed so we could get one or two drinks. Or maybe seven, depending on how we were feeling after working all day. Abernathy's was owned by Haymitch who often came into the café hung-over or still hammered. Just as we were about to leave, the Greek god that was now my co-worker walked right out the door and almost directly on top of me. Even though we hadn't actually talked since that first day, there was still an air of friendliness between us as we greeted each other.

When Rue saw him, it was another story. Over the week Rue had gotten to know him and they were now friends, and apparently close enough to hug each other whenever they saw each other. So, of course as we were about to leave Rue decided to invite him along.

"Sure sounds like fun!" he responded enthusiastically his eyes practically glowing with excitement.

I smile faintly at him when he accepts the offer, and realise that I'm going to end up with him the entire night. The two couples got to be together, and Peeta and I would just be kind of thrown together because of it. Don't get me wrong I like Peeta, probably too much for what's appropriate for co-workers. But I usually like to choose my company, instead of be forced to spend time with someone just because it benefits others.

_At least it's Peeta though. He's not bad. _I think trying to console myself a little.

Gale and Johanna start their way over to the pub shoving each other playfully and finally settle with their arms around their partners waists. Rue and Thresh are not far behind, and I watch as Rue jumps on Thresh's back and giggles as he teeters for a second from her unexpected weight.

Only Peeta and I are left standing there, and when I turn back to him, he's staring intently at me instead of watching the others. This, makes me drop my gaze and flick my eyes back up to him a few times, being unable to hold steady eye contact with him for too long.

"Shall we?" he asks a smile in his voice.

I nod and start walking in the direction of the others, with Peeta at my side.

"So are you new to New York or just a new job?" I ask trying to start a conversation as gracefully as I can.

"No, I'm new here. First time living in a big city actually. Up until now I've lived in what only the most generous soul would call a small- town." He replies with a small chuckle.

"How small was the community?" I ask intrigued in his life before coming here.

"So small, only the people who lived there new it was a place. I was hoping to become more... cultured." Peeta says with a smile looking over at me.

"Well, you'll certainly become cultured here, or assaulted. It's either one or the other." I mutter, feeling unhappy with my decision in coming here.

Peeta laughs and asks, "Which one were you?" his eyes dazzling.

I laugh somewhat robotically, and respond with what I hope is cheeriness, but might be insanity,

"Definitely cultured. Look at how I dress, I look like I read poetry and listen to deep music in my free time."

"And do you?" he asks seemingly interested.

"Ha, no. My free time is spent either picking up extra shifts or being dragged around the city by my sister, Prim." I say with a small smile at the idea of Prim and I having a day off on the same day and going to the café for fun instead of going to be yelled at by Sae.

"How old is your sister?" he asks sounding surprised at the idea that I have a sister.

"She's thirteen turning fourteen soon, and just finishing up eighth grade." I respond proudly. "Do you have siblings?" I ask.

Peeta's expression soured slightly and he huffed out his breath. "I have apes that are pretending to be my brothers. Atticus who is six years older than me, and Quinn who is four years older than me. I'm the baby." He says with a half-hearted shrug.

As we meander our way over to the pub, we make a bit more small talk until eventually Peeta turns to me, with his eyebrows knit together and a question dancing on his tongue.

"Katniss, what happened in the kitchen? Did I do something?" he asks obviously referring to my small escape from between his arms.

"No, don't worry about me Peeta. It's a little complicated so you'll have to forgive me." I say more than a little embarrassed about my actions.

"Look, I'm sorry if I upset you, I didn't mean to get _that_ close." He says avoiding my eyes, and ears turning an endearing shade of pink.

I just smile and roll my eyes at him. "It's fine. Really, I'm a big girl I'm sure I can handle myself."

"If you say so." He responds grudgingly knowing that there's more to the story, but realizing it's not his place to pry.

"So may I ask why you, of all people decided to work in a rundown cafe?" he asks trying to cover up the slightly awkward pause.

"That cafe isn't rundown!" I exclaim. "It's just got... character."

He laughs at this and I smile softly.

"Well... Whatever you say." He replies softly, turning to me. As he speaks, he stares at my lips captivated by whatever he finds so interesting.

All too soon, our little party arrives at the pub. Looking up, the neon sign flickers on and off reflecting on the dingy looking brown siding, giving us a wonderful little preview of what it's like inside. I pull one of the dark wooden doors open, and hold it for our party of six watching as people split up immediately.

Johanna lets out a whoop, and makes a beeline for the bar, ordering hopefully enough drinks to go around. Thresh and Rue have already disappeared to a dark corner somewhere, and just after Peeta walks in Gale grabs my wrist and drags me off to a booth.

I was, to be clear hoping to drown my sorrows in enough shots to tranquilize an elephant tonight, as it seems to take the edge off my nightmares. But, I already have a feeling that I'll be babysitting some very drunk kiddies for the remainder of the evening.

As I sit down, I realize that this place perfectly complements the café. The walls are painted a deep, dark forest green and all the wood finishing has been stained a dark green very close to the Daylight. Or, at least I think that's what it is. The lighting in here is so bad I'm not sure who's who.

Gale plops down into the booth and casually puts his legs out to show that he's waiting for Johanna instead of me. Rolling my eyes, I move to sit on the other side of the booth when Thresh and Rue slide in looking very cozy already. Sighing, I turn around and see that Peeta has two chairs pulled up at the side of the table, and is motioning for me to sit. Smiling slightly, I sit down quickly trying to hide my face behind my curtain of hair and look down at my hands. I can feel him sit next to me more so then see him, and it feels as if the left side of my body is sitting in the sun.

Johanna being her ever graceful self, nearly dumps the drinks on Peeta's head as she trips over the legs of his chair. Dodging quickly, he pulls his seat right up next to mine and I feel his leg brush against mine. Once Johanna is sitting down comfortably with Gale practically draped across her lap, she distributes the drinks and Peeta doesn't even pretend to move farther away from me.

Blushing I focus on my drink in my hands and pretend not to feel the heat of his gaze on the side of my face. Ripping away at the label on my bottle I half listen to the conversation that's going on around me, and perk up as Johanna half-screams, half-squeals at the sight of tequila shots being put down on our table.

The two couples grab at them quickly, Gale downing two rapidly and then smiling wide as if he just won a Nobel Prize. Peeta looks at me questioningly, and I shake my head no to signify that I'm okay with my drink.

He leans over and whispers, "Planning on being responsible tonight?" tickling my face with his warm breath. I shiver at the feeling, and lean away from him slightly feeling queasy with someone I don't know so close to me.

I shake my head, and respond, "More so planning on getting them home in one piece."

At this, he smiles at me and his gaze lingers on my face for awhile. Noticing this, I blush deeply _once_ _again _and look down at my hands still trying to destroy the remnants of the label. _What about this boy makes me so... different?_

* * *

><p>Soon enough most of our party is happily buzzed in the least, and I'm still nursing my one and only drink stone cold sober and miserable. After the fourth time Gale tries to make out with me, thinking it was Johanna I pull the plug. Standing up abruptly, I grab Johanna and Rue by the wrists, and practically drag them out of their seats. Thresh being ever responsible stands up with ease quietly behind Rue and wraps his arms around her, keeping her upright. Johanna has in the mean time stopped trying to stay upright on her own, and is now resting her dead weight in my arms. I practically drop her in a free seat, and turn to Gale.<p>

Sighing, I look Gale over and see that he is absolutely and totally shitfaced. I crawl in the seat a little bit, and grab both of his hands standing him up and leading him out of the booth. When I get him out all the way, apparently he decided that standing on his own two feet was outdated and leans his entire weight on me. Letting out a surprised squeak, I feel us tipping over slowly until Peeta snakes his arm around Gale's waist, and hoisting him upright. Giving him a quick but grateful look, I grab Johanna and we make a start for the doors. Rue and Thresh have somehow, and conveniently already disappeared.

Pushing the heavy doors open, the cool night air greets us softly as I stumble out the door with Johanna, and Peeta and Gale trailing us. Slowly, we start our trek back to the café without much talking.

Absorbed in my own thoughts about Prim, I almost don't hear Johanna's breathy voice,

"Katniss, Katniss!" Johanna whispers in a singsong voice.

Turning to her slightly, I see that her eyes are wide open and staring at me with a childlike innocence. Since she whispered to me, I feel it's only appropriate to respond in the same fashion.

"What do you need Jo?"

"Nuthin. Nuuuthin. Cept' maybe for Gale. He'd be good righ' now." She mumbles out quietly. Scrunching up my nose, I try not to think about what she might be insinuating.

"Katniss, I hav ta tell you this, fur yur own good!" She says stopping suddenly, grabbing my face between both hands. I stopped, purely out of surprise, and stared back in her wide ones.

"Katniss. Screw Peeta, hee's totally got tha hots for ya. Also, I saw you blushin', and I can tell you completely wanna." She says her eyes drifting in and out of focus. Mine, however are glued to Peeta, who I'm almost certain has just heard what she said as his ears have turned bright red and he refuses to look at me.

"Okay, let's get you outta here." I say my cheeks burning like fire. I turn away from Peeta and keep my eyes downturned, up until we reach the café. Without speaking I hail a cab for the two, and Peeta shoves Gale in the backseat, quickly followed by Johanna. I give the cabbie their address, pay their fare and shut the door quickly hoping to get home soon.

I take a deep breath, and then turn to Peeta giving him a bit of a shy smile. He returns it and I walk over to his side.

"How are you getting home?" I ask looking at my hands.

"Probably the bus. It's a lot cheaper than a taxi." He says with a chuckle. "What about you?"

I respond hesitantly, "I'm gonna walk, I think. My apartment isn't too far away."

Peeta's eyes widen slightly in response, and he shakes his head disbelievingly. "Well in that case, I will be walking you home. I can't just leave you alone to walk by yourself." He says disapprovingly.

"Although, I have to go and grab my keys from the back room. Would you mind waiting for me?" he asks hopefully.

Honestly, I don't want to be left in the street alone at night, but I don't want to be a pest to Peeta so I give him a tight lipped smile and small nod. A few seconds later, he disappears around the back of the building.

As soon as he can't see me, I spring into action. Gripping my keys in between each finger, I back myself up against the wall of the building and before I can even blink, someone is pinning me to the wall making me drop my makeshift weapon.

I can feel my blood run cold as I take in who stands before me. His sharp angular features, dark hollow looking eyes, and short blonde hair.

Unable to form a coherent thought, my eyes widen even further than they have and I can feel a whimper trying to escape my chest. Trying to back up further to keep distance between us, I start to mumble, completely unable to form words. I watch petrified as he leans his head down close to me, as if he were going to kiss me.

"Cato." I whisper, my eyes clamping shut.

"Hello there Katniss. I haven't seen you in a while." He whispers into my ear, his voice sounding like velvet.

I can tell I'm crying, and I hate it. I hate feeling so vulnerable especially in front of someone like him.

Instead of having his arm pinned across my chest, he moves his hands to my shoulders and rubs them slowly, leaning his whole body in against me.

"Get away from me." I whisper, my legs feeling like rubber. "Please let me go."

"Now, now." He chuckles darkly. "Let's just talk." He says looking mischevious.

"I have nothing to say to you." I try, my voice wobbling like a child's.

"That's okay baby, we don't have to talk." He murmurs running his nose along my jaw line, leaning down and pushing rough kisses to my collarbone. Each one feels like a knife cutting into me, and I begin to seriously panic.

Pushing at his chest hard and unexpectedly, he backs up a little and wobbles, almost losing his balance. Growling, and his face twisting into an ugly sneer, he lets his hand fly and I feel a sharp sting on my cheek. Putting my hand to my face, I turn to him bewildered and he forces his mouth down on mine, and his hands on my body, groping me.

Unable to breathe, think or sob I knee him in the groin as hard as I can to get him off of me, and he backs off once again. This time, instead of looking mildly annoyed, real dark anger surges in his eyes, and I dart away, around the side of the building hoping to make an escape.

Just as I round the corner, Cato tries to grab my arm, and I literally run into Peeta. Instinctively he wraps his arms around me to keep us from toppling over, but when he sees what was going on, he keeps his arms wrapped around me tightly, his normally happy and open expression turning murderous. Everywhere he touches is fire, and it is quickly spreading down to my fingertips and toes.

"Who are you?" he asks his brow furrowed low over his eyes. I can tell that I'm shaking like a leaf, and I try to keep the tremors in my body to a minimum but to no avail. Peeta being the saint that he is tightens his hold on me to try to keep me from vibrating out of my skin.

Instead of responding, Cato releases my arm reluctantly, shoots me a glare and then walks away disappearing into the night. I watch as he walks away, and finally begin to breathe when he is out of my sight.

It takes me a few moments to realize that Peeta is for one trying to get my attention, and second still has his arms wrapped around me protectively.

"Katniss who was that?" he asks gently, trying to look in my eyes.

"No one." I mumble wiping my eyes quickly with the sleeve of my sweater and pushing away from his body slightly, to signal that he can let me go. Almost reluctantly, he releases his tight hold on me and still feeling an electric pulse on all the points where we touched.

Refusing to meet his gaze I rub my cheek lightly where Cato hit me and can feel myself breaking apart in milliseconds. I really don't want to cry in front of him anymore than I have already, and I preoccupy myself with trying to breathe slowly to get enough air in my lungs to be able to function.

"Katniss," Peeta starts, his voice an even and controlled fire to it causing me to look up at him, "Di-did he do anything?" he asks his jaw working slowly, and his eyes flashing dangerously.

"N-no." I whisper, quiet as a mouse and giving myself away.

"Let's get you home." Is all he says in response to my obvious lie, eyes flashing once again. He tentatively puts his hand on my back, and leads me out of the little alleyway, into the crappy orange streetlight glow.

Walking on stiff legs, I move over to the building and lean down and grab my keys quickly and shuffle back closer to Peeta. I know I don't know him very well, but after Cato, I want to feel safe in some way.

Neither of us says much on the walk to the apartment complex, but as we walk I slowly try to tuck myself in closer to him trying to keep him from noticing. Of course though, he does and graciously lets me.

As we get to the front of the building, Peeta tries to speak once again.

"Katniss-" he starts,

"I'm fine Peeta. Don't worry about me." I fib weakly and look down at my shoes, feeling the tears once again pooling in my eyes.

Before he can respond to me, I hug him tightly and quickly and turn on my heel and walk in the building.

As soon as I walk in my own apartment, I shatter into a thousand pieces that won't ever be able to be reassembled.

* * *

><p><strong>I liked the way that I wrote this chapter but that could just be me. I'm really hoping that you guys will be active and review, let me know what you want to have happen in the story in the future, and just generally give me feedback. Nothing is set in stone and if you're hoping to see something happen let me know :) I can't improve if I get no criticism.<strong>

**Happy Holidays everyone!**

**flyingtheme**


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